狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第26章Part 11

'Thank you,' returned the gentleman, 'I am doing very well; I have no great appetite today.'
'Why, Dombey, what's become of it?' asked the Major. 'Where's it gone? You haven't left it with our friends, I'll swear, for I can answer for their having none to-day at luncheon. I can answer for one of 'em, at least: I won't say which.'
Then the Major winked at Carker, and became so frightfully sly, that his dark attendant was obliged to pat him on the back, without orders, or he would probably have disappeared under the table.
In a later stage of the dinner: that is to say, when the Native stood at the Major's elbow ready to serve the first bottle of champagne: the Major became still slyer.
'Fill this to the brim, you scoundrel,' said the Major, holding up his glass. 'Fill Mr Carker's to the brim too. And Mr Dombey's too. By Gad, gentlemen,' said the Major, winking at his new friend, while Mr Dombey looked into his plate with a conscious air, 'we'll consecrate this glass of wine to a Divinity whom Joe is proud to know, and at a distance humbly and reverently to admire. Edith,' said the Major, 'is her name; angelic Edith!'
'To angelic Edith!' cried the smiling Carker.
'Edith, by All means,' said Mr Dombey.
The entrance of the waiters with new dishes caused the Major to be slyer yet, but in a more serious vein. 'For though among ourselves, Joe Bagstock mingles jest and earnest on this subject, Sir,' said the Major, laying his finger on his lips, and speaking half apart to Carker, 'he holds that name too sacred to be made the property of these fellows, or of any fellows. Not a word!, Sir' while they are here!'
This was respectful and becoming on the Major's part, and Mr Dombey plainly felt it so. Although embarrassed in his own frigid way, by the Major's allusions, Mr Dombey had no objection to such rallying, it was clear, but rather courted it. Perhaps the Major had been pretty near the truth, when he had divined that morning that the great man who was too haughty formally to consult with, or confide in his prime minister, on such a matter, yet wished him to be fully possessed of it. Let this be how it may, he often glanced at Mr Carker while the Major plied his light artillery, and seemed watchful of its effect upon him.
But the Major, having secured an attentive listener, and a smiler who had not his match in all the world - 'in short, a devilish intelligent and able fellow,' as he often afterwards declared - was not going to let him off with a little slyness personal to Mr Dombey. Therefore, on the removal of the cloth, the Major developed himself as a choice spirit in the broader and more comprehensive range of narrating regimental stories, and cracking regimental jokes, which he did with such prodigal exuberance, that Carker was (or feigned to be) quite exhausted with laughter and admiration: while Mr Dombey looked on over his starched cravat, like the Major's proprietor, or like a stately showman who was glad to see his bear dancing well.
When the Major was too hoarse with meat and drink, and the display of his social powers, to render himself intelligible any longer, they adjourned to coffee. After which, the Major inquired of Mr Carker the Manager, with little apparent hope of an answer in the affirmative, if he played picquet.
'Yes, I play picquet a little,' said Mr Carker.
'Backgammon, perhaps?' observed the Major, hesitating.
'Yes, I play backgammon a little too,' replied the man of teeth.

“謝謝您，”那位先生回答道，“我正吃着呢。我今天的胃口不很好。”
“唔，董貝，您的胃口怎麼了？”少校問道，“它跑到哪裏去了？我敢發誓，您沒把它掉在我們的朋友那裏，因爲我可以保證，她們今天吃午飯的時候也是沒有胃口的。至少我可以保證，她們當中有一位是這樣，至於是哪一位我就不說了。”
少校這時向卡克使了使眼色，充滿了非常狡猾的神氣，如果這時他的黑皮膚的僕人不待他囑咐，理所當然地前來給他拍背，那麼他也許已經滾到餐桌下面不見了。
當晚飯臨近結束的時候，換句話說，當本地人站在少校身邊，準備倒出第一瓶香檳酒的時候，少校變得更加狡猾了。
“把這倒滿，你這無賴，”少校舉起杯子說道，“把卡克先生的也倒滿，還有董貝先生的。天主在上，先生們，”少校向他的新朋友眨巴着眼睛說道，這時董貝先生帶着知曉底細的神情看着盤子，“讓我們把這一杯奉獻給一位神，喬感到自豪能認識她，並從遠處恭恭敬敬地讚美她。伊迪絲，”少校說，“就是她的名字。天使般的伊迪絲！”
“爲天使般的伊迪絲乾杯！”笑嘻嘻的卡克喊道。
“當然，爲伊迪絲乾杯！”董貝先生說道。
侍者們端着新菜進來，少校變得更加狡猾，但也更爲莊重。“雖然在我們自己人中間，喬·白格斯托克可以半開玩笑、半認真地談論這個問題，先生，”少校把一個指頭擱在嘴脣上，半對着卡克說道，“但他認爲這個名字太神聖了，不能讓這些傢伙偷聽了去。當他們在場的時候，先生，一個字也別說！”
從少校這方面來說，這樣說是出於尊敬，也是很適當的；董貝先生清楚地感覺到這一點。雖然聽到少校那些暗指的話，董貝先生以他那冷冰冰的神情表現出不大好意思，但他顯然並不反對這樣的開玩笑，相反倒還巴不得這樣。也許少校這天上午所推測的話是相當接近真實的：這位偉大的人物太高傲了，他不能在這種問題上正式跟他的總理商量或對他吐露心事，可是卻又希望他能瞭解全部真情。不管情況怎麼樣，當少校使用他的輕炮時，董貝先生不時向卡克先生看上一眼，似乎很注意這炮火在他身上產生了什麼樣的作用。
可是少校得到了一位聚精會神聽講的人，並且也是一位世上無雙的愛微笑的人——就像他以後經常說的，“總之，一位魔鬼般聰明和討人喜歡的人”，他並不打算只跟他稍稍狡猾地暗示一下董貝先生之後就把他放走。因此，當桌布撤除以後，少校就充分表現自己是個講團隊故事和說團隊笑話的能手，涉及的題材更加廣泛，更加無所不包，真是豐富多彩，層出不窮；卡克由於哈哈大笑，讚賞不止，弄得精疲力乏（或許是假裝成這樣的）；這時候董貝先生從他漿得筆挺的領帶上面向前望去，好像是少校的主人或者像是個莊嚴的馬戲團的老闆，高興地看着他的熊在精采地跳舞。
少校由於吃、喝和顯示聊天的才能，嗓子變得十分嘶啞，再也發不出清晰的聲音，這時候他們就開始喝咖啡。在這之後，少校問經理卡克先生，他是不是玩皮基特牌？他問的時候顯然並不期望得到肯定的答覆。
“能，我能玩一點兒。”卡克先生回答道。
“也許您也能玩十五子游戲吧？”少校遲疑地問道。
“是的，也能玩一點兒。”露出牙齒的人回答道。